Effectiveness of Head Teachers' Leadership Styles on the Management of Public Primary School Curriculum Implementations in Bomet County, Kenya

Article excerpt

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of head teachers' leadership styles on their effectiveness in public primary school curriculum implementation in Bomet Sub-County, Kenya. A correlation research design was used in the study. A sample of 120 head teachers was selected from a population of 174 head teachers of public primary schools in the Sub-County using proportionate and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaires for head teachers were used to collect data. Data were analysed with the aid of a computer programme, the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5. Frequencies and percentages were computed to determine head teachers' effectiveness in managing curriculum. Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between head teachers' leadership styles and their effectiveness in managing curriculum implementation. The study found that there was no statistically significant relationship between head teachers' leadership styles and their effectiveness in managing curriculum implementation in public primary schools. The author recommends that the government intensify school-based in-service trainings at the divisional level to benefit head teachers on the strengths and limitations of the various leadership styles in primary school management in order to realize good results among learners in national examinations. Education officers can utilize this information to intensify school-based in-service trainings at the divisional levels to benefit head teachers on the strengths and limitations of the various leadership styles in school management. Further, the Education Officers, among other stakeholders, may see the need of getting head teachers and teachers to undergo in-service trainings on their roles in managing pupils and curriculum implementation.

This paper examines the role of head teachers in curriculum implementation in public primary schools, and the relationship between selected head teachers' leadership styles and their effectiveness in curriculum implementation based on a study in Bomet Sub-County, Kenya.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The Role of Head Teachers in Curriculum Implementation in Primary Schools

The word curriculum refers to all that is taught in a school, including the time table subjects and; all those aspects of its life that exercise an influence in the life of the school (Farrant, 2004). Curriculum for public schools in Kenya is uniform throughout the country, and the head teachers are expected to be aware of all policies that guide the management of curriculum (MOE & HR, 1999). Curriculum involves all subjects taught and all activities provided by the school and may include the time devoted to each subject and activity. Curriculum should be dynamic and impress on the philosophy and educational purposes of the school and the nation. Other considerations in the management of the curriculum are: allowing for Special Education Needs (SEN), providing practical experience and learning, taking into consideration culture, customs/traditions of the local people, soliciting support for implementation, the learning ability of the pupils, and gender issues pertaining to the community or school environment (MOE & HR, 1999).

Curriculum may be seen as the sum total of all the experiences the learner undergoes for which the school accepts responsibility. It includes both includes the planned academic programme and all co-curricular activities and other events, as well as that which pupils learn through the major and quality of the school ethos. The main task of the head of each school is to provide and deliver effectively and appropriate curriculum using all the resources, namely: human, material and financial resources, which are readily available. …